Kmart
Kmart is a Discount department store chain founded in Garden City, Michigan in 1962. It was founded by Sebastian S. Kresge as a counterpart to his Kresge dime store chain. While Kresge ceased operations in 1987, Kmart has maintained thousands of stores in the United States. The chain used to operate in Canada, Mexico, and Czechoslovakia (later the Czech and Slovak Republics), but pulled out of those markets in the 1990s. An Australian division, which also included locations in New Zealand; was also spun off in the 1990s and, though still under the Kmart name, is no longer affiliated. In 2005, Kmart merged with Sears. History Kresge formed the Kresge Five-and-Dime stores in the early 1900s. He had worked at Woolworth's Five-and-Dime. After that, in 1912, he formed the S. S. Kresge Company. In 1962, the first Kmart opened. Kresge died four years later. Kmart became really popular in the 70s. After that, it fell because of competition with Walmart and Target. In 1990, Little Caesars Pizza Station opened its first in-store Kmart restaurant in Rochester, Michigan. So in the 90s, they bought Borders, Payless Drug, OfficeMax and the Sports Authority. This did not prove successful, so everything was spun off. In July 2000, Kmart closed 72 underperforming stores due to poor sales, and the company announced a planned major restructuring, in which Kmart would invest in new customer check-out and new inventory management technology and other related systems as well. In 2001, Kmart opened several new Kmart Super Center stores as part of Kmart's plan to expand their Kmart Super Center store portfolio, along with Kmart trying to make groceries available at stores as well. However, due to Kmart filing for bankruptcy in January 2002, Kmart was unable to open any more new Kmart Super Center stores, and any of the Kmart Super Center stores that were under construction during Kmart's 2002 bankruptcy were halted, no matter how close the stores were to completion. Sears merged with Kmart in 2005, after Kmart went bankrupt. Kmart is now part of Sears Holdings Corporation. Store Concepts Current *'Kmart'- discount chain. The First Kmart opened in Garden City, Michigan in 1962, which closed in 2017. Uses an original logo and a newer logo on some stores. * Big Kmart - discount chain that offers more products, such as a small grocery department, home fashions, children's apparel, and consumables. Similar to Target Greatland Concepts. Entrance is similar to Regular Kmart Stores. The First Big Kmart opened in Chicago, Illinois on April 23, 1997. In 1998, Kmart acquired 45 former Venture stores and converted them into Big Kmart stores. By the end of 1998, 62% of Kmart's stores were Big Kmart stores. Kmart later converted nearly 1,900 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores in 1999. * Super Kmart- hypermarket chain with full grocery department, two entrances and a food court. The First Super Kmart opened in Medina, Ohio in 1991, which closed in 2012. The second ground-up Super Kmart Center opened in Montrose, Ohio in 1992, featuring an in-store video rental center, and an in-store carryout Chinese restaurant, but closed in 2009. The Last Super Kmart Center in Warren, Ohio, closed on April 8, 2018. *'KDollar'- dollar store *'K-Café' - in-store restaurant *'Kwash' - attached to store laundromat *'Kmart Express' - chain of gas stations/convenience stores. Another concept with the same name was tested in Puerto Rico as a mall pickup location. Former *'American Fare' - hypermarket chain (the name would remain as Kmart's store brand) *'Builders Square' - home improvement store *'Borders Books' - bookstore chain *'Jupiter Discount' - deep discount store *'Kmart Food Stores' - supermarket chain *'Kmart Chef'- restaurant *'Kresge's Five-and-Dime' - variety chain *'Makro' - warehouse club chain *'OfficeMax' - office supplies store *'Office Square' - office supplies store *'PACE Membership Warehouse' - warehouse club *'PayLess Drugs' - pharmacy *'Sports Authority' - sporting goods store *'Variety Outlet' - closeout chain *'Waldenbooks' - bookstore chain See also * Sears - owner * Walmart - competitor * Target - competitor External links * Official website * Kmart on the USA Store fanon Wiki Category:Discount stores Category:Superstores Category:Big-Box Stores Category:Department stores Category:Retailers Category:Hypermarkets Category:Retailers that filed for bankruptcy Category:Mall Retailers Category:Baby stores Category:Kids clothing stores Category:Kids stores Category:Toy stores Category:Electronic Stores Category:Hardware Stores Category:Women's clothing stores Category:Men's clothing stores Category:Retailers by type